Deadfall
by CanadianAbby
Summary: My first FanFic. Gibbs and the team have a case and Abby is going crazy that she can't properly help them. Gabby pairing with Tate later. Warning: Character violence in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fanfic, so please no flames.

Disclaimer: Don't own, wish I did, but that will never happen

CHAPTER 1

Abby's at home, sitting alone on her couch trying to watch TV. She is also incredibly bored. She looks at the phone trying to decide whether or not to call someone. Battle won; she picks up the phone and dials.  
"Gibbs," she hears barked into the phone.  
"Gibbs, Gibbs! I am _so_ bored here. You've gotta let me come back to work."  
"Abs, we've talked about this. You agreed that it would be better if you stayed at home right now."  
"I know Gibbs, but that was before I knew how boring this is."  
Gibbs tries not to smile while he pictures her on the couch pouting at him even though she can't see him. "Abs," he sighs.  
"I know, I know...Can you at least bring me back a Caf-pow?" she asks hopefully.  
"Abby," Gibbs says with a warning in his voice.  
"Pushing it? Well can you at least bring me something interesting to do? I'm dieing here Gibbs!"  
"Fine," he says, "I'll bring the forensic reports from our current case, but if you find something, under no circumstances can you go to the lab."  
"Alright, I promise not to go to the lab." She tries to sound sad, but Gibbs can hear excitement of looking over the reports bubbling in her voice.  
"Later Gibbs!"  
Gibbs shakes his head and starts laughing internally at their conversation. He sometimes wonders about her.  
Abby looks down at her swollen stomach and rubs her hand across the bump where her baby is. "You know, I love you and I can't wait for you to get here, but I really do miss work," she says to the bump, "At least your Daddy will be bringing me some work to do."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Gibbs walks into his house to find Abby in the kitchen with her music blaring and her pigtails bouncing. He walks up behind her and plants a kiss on the back of her head.

Abby whirls around. "Jeez Gibbs! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

Gibbs turns down her music and holds out a file folder "Does this make up for it?"

"YES!" She snatches the folder away from him and walks into the living room, already pouring over the information.

"So does that mean you don't want your sandwich?" Gibbs calls after her.

Abby walks back into the kitchen with her head in the folder, picks up the sandwich and walks back into the living room.

Gibbs walks into the living room and watches Abby for a minute. She looks so beautiful to him even at 8 ½ months pregnant.

"Okay, so the body was found in a warehouse. Ducky said that the cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation, no I.D. yet," Abby says to herself, "It says that there were fibers found in the wound. Oh, polypropylene rope. They couldn't have made it easy could they? That is i the /i most common type of rope."

Gibbs sits down next to her and begins to stroke her stomach.

"Mmmm, that feels good. Oh my God, I'm so sorry Jethro. I'm totally ignoring you."

It still amazed him how much he liked hearing her say his given name. She still called him Gibbs, but usually only at work. The second they were home, she switched to saying Jethro.

"Don't worry Abs. I know how much you miss working."

"But you're home and if I had to guess, I'd say you have to go back tonight."

"You'd be right." Gibbs replies

"Well, do you want something to eat while you're here, or to drink? I could get you a…"

"Sit down Abs. You need to rest for our baby and I'm not totally incapable of making myself something to eat."

Abby grins at him. She remembers when she found out he could cook and that he's actually pretty good in the kitchen. Breakfast would always be special for her after that morning. "Alright, but only because I think I hurt in places I didn't know I had. Your child is ginormous."

"My child? I like to think you had something to do with that too." Gibbs wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"I did have something to do with this, but right now it's your child."

Gibbs shakes his head and goes into the kitchen. Abby picks up the file again and goes over the reports and munches on her sandwich.

After they have both eaten, Abby's head jerks up. "Hey Gibbs, the rope fibers they found, they're oxidized."

"And?"

"Well that means the rope was exposed to UV-Rays for an extended amount of time. Rope like this oxidizes after being outside in the sun for over a year. No one ran an analysis for anything else on the fibers other than blood. Is Michael still in my lab?"

"Umm..nope."

"Oh Gibbs, you didn't scare him away, did you?"

"Not this time."

Abby looks pointedly at him.

"I did not scare Michael off."

"Well if it wasn't you then…..oh Tony! I'm gonna have to have a chat with him."

"Go easy on him Abs." Gibbs smiles at her.

"So who is in there now?"

"Sean I think his name is. He's still at the lab if you want to call."

"Yeah I will. I think we may be able to tell you where the rope came from the strangled the victim."


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Kate, Tony, and McGee are all in the bullpen trying to find a new lead in the case. McGee sits at his desk absorbed in phone records, while Kate is looking over the personal file of the victim that they just received an I.D. on. Tony is playing Solitaire on his computer.

"Petty Officer Tom Lynch's record is exemplary; it's spotless," Kate says with a sigh.

"Lynch? No relation to the director David Lynch?" Tony says

"Who?" Kate asks

"David Lynch, director of cult movies like Mullholland Dirve, Lost Highway. Don't tell me you've never heard of him"

"No Tony, I've heard of David Lynch."

"I have," McGee says.

"Well, you would have Probie. Geeks always know the cult classics."

McGee makes his "not funny" face at Tony.

"What have we got?" Gibbs asks as he walks into the bullpen.

Kate stands up and walks over to the flat screen. "Petty Officer Tom Lynch. His record is spotless. Received the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Medal during his tour in Iraq."

"Phone records show one incoming call the night he was reported missing. The call was from a blocked number."

Gibbs stares at McGee.

"And I will find out what the number is."

"Tony" Gibbs shouts.

"Yeah boss."

"Well," Gibbs asks impatiently.

"The Petty Officer has no known enemies and no one knows why he was found in a warehouse that far from Norfolk. He was known to stay around the base or with a friend in Virginia when he went on shore leave."

Gibbs sits down at his desk. "Abby may have found us a lead. McGee, go down to the lab to see if Sean's made any progress."

"On it boss."

"And Tony," Gibbs gestures for Tony to come closer, "Abby said If you don't go easy on this one, you'll be hearing from her later."

Tony smiles nervously. "She wouldn't hurt me, would she?"

Gibbs slaps Tony's head "Well, she won't be smacking the back of your head, that's for sure."

Gibbs looks back at his computer. "Kate, grab your gear. You and Tony are going to the Petty Officer's house."

McGee gets off the elevator and walks into Abby's lab and smiles sadly. There's no loud music blaring as the door opens and he really misses that along with her company.

"Hey Sean. Gibbs wants to know if you have anything."

Sean lets out the breath he was holding in. "Oh hi Tim. I'll have something in a minute."

McGee looks at him funny. "You were expecting Tony, weren't you?"

"No, I, um." Sean sighs, "Yeah. He really doesn't like me, does he?"

"No, I don't think it's that. Tony's just….he loves Abby like a sister and he doesn't like seeing anyone else in her lab. He really misses her."

"Wow, she really must be something. I wish I could meet her. Everyone around here seems so sad that she's not here. "

"Well, Abby is a very lovable person. You'd like her." McGee tells Sean. "We're all pretty protective over her and her lab, but Tony is protective in a different way."

"The immature way?" Kate says as she walks up to the guys.

"I thought you were on your way to Petty Officer Lynch's house." McGee says

"I thought I'd come down here and see if we're looking for something specific." Kate replies.

There's a beep somewhere in the lab and Sean grabs a sheet off of the printer.

"Hmm. That's weird." Sean says after reading over the paper.

"What's weird?" Kate asks

"Fish."

"Fish?" McGee says incredibly.

"Fish and salt. A bit of fuel maybe," Sean says.

"So we're looking for a rope and fishing gear, possibly evidence that he was on a fishing boat." Kate determines.

"Yup. That's where the rope was most likely used before it became a murder weapon."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Tony and Kate walk into the bullpen the next morning. Tony throws his gear on the floor behind his desk and Kate rolls her eyes at him.

"Didn't go well at the Petty Officer's house?" McGee inquires.

"Sure it did Probie. No sign of forced entry and no sign of a struggle, also no rope. The man didn't even have a tackle box anywhere." Tony gripes.

"His house is not the primary crime scene, but we did find something." Kate says. "There was a picture of the Petty Officer and another man. It looks like the picture was taken at a dock."

"I'll take it down to Sean and see if we can get a location from the picture." McGee says.

"Tony and I will see if we can find an I.D. on the other man in the picture."

Gibbs walks in and sits down at his desk, large coffee in hand, without saying a word. The team look at each other with puzzled looks on their faces.

Gibbs doesn't even look up. "Something bothering you?"

"No bother boss," McGee says quickly.

Gibbs sighs. "If I don't tell you, you'll keep guessing and won't get anything done; Abby experienced Braxton Hicks last night. We were at the hospital most of the night."

"Is she okay?" "How is she doing?" "Braxton Hicks?" The last statement was from Tony.

"It's false labor Tony." Kate says while she rolls her eyes.

"Oh. Oh! Is Abby okay?"

"Yes, she's fine and she's resting no matter how much she hates it."

There is a collective sigh of relief and Gibbs stands up and starts walking for the elevator.

"You should be at home with her Gibbs." Kate sounds concerned.

"She told me to go to work, that I was smothering her." Tony makes the whipped motion with his hand behind Gibbs' back.

"Awww…Gibbs"

"Not another word Kate." Kate looks at her computer quickly. Gibbs starts walking around to the back of Tony's desk and slaps the back of his head.

"What was that for Boss?"

Gibbs smiles cryptically. "You know what for. If anyone needs me, I'll be in autopsy."

A short while later in the lab, McGee and Sean are running the landmarks from the picture through the program Abby and McGee came up with.

"Hey, there it is," Sean says excitedly, "Looks like Virginia Beach."

"I've heard there's really good off-shore fishing out there. Hey wait a minute. Can you magnify that bell?"

"What is that reflected on there? I'll try to magnify it some more." Sean types away on the keyboard.

"It looks like a fishing boat. Maybe the boat we are looking for is docked near this bell. I'm going to call Gibbs."

Gibbs enters the lab almost expecting loud music to deafen him when the door opens, but then he remembers Abby is at home. Her replacements have been much quieter and while he thought he would enjoy that, it just makes him realize how much he misses seeing Abby wheel around on her computer chair, or to see her typing away madly on her computer, or tweaking one of her babies.

"What do you have?" Gibbs asks gruffly.

"We blew up the picture that Kate and Tony found and have a location for you. The boat seems to be docked in Virginia Beach." Sean replies.

McGee adds, "We've narrowed it down to the Virginia Beach Fishing Center."

"Good work McGee, Sean."

Gibbs and McGee stride quickly into the bullpen. "Grab your gear; we're headed to Virginia Beach."


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Abby picks up the phone. "Abby here!"

"Hi Abs. Listen, I just called to catch you up on the case. Sean and McGee found a possible location for the fishing boat. We're on our way to Virginia Beach." Gibbs says.

"I appreciate you calling, but you don't have to call just to say where you're going. You take off all the time for cases."

"I know Abs, but what if you go into labor while I'm gone?" Gibbs says nervously.

"I so love you. Anyway, you shouldn't worry so much. Remember, we have a plan for when I do go into labor. I call you, then I call Ducky, so there should be no problems."

Gibbs chuckles. "Alright Abby. I love you too." They hang up.

Abby picks up the phone again and calls the lab.

"NCIS Forensics Lab..."

"You are so formal Sean. Loosen up a bit!"

There's silence for a few seconds. "Is this Abby Sciuto?" Sean asks excitedly.

"The one and only," Abby answers. "Listen. Can you keep me up to date on the evidence you get?"

"Oh wow! It would be my honor ma'a…."

Abby cuts him off "I hope you're not about to call me ma'am. It's Abby or Abs, got it?"

"Yes m…Abby."

"Okay, now where were we?"

Gibbs and the team arrive at the marina. They fan out and look for the bell from the picture. An employee comes up to Gibbs and asks, "Is there something I can help you with?"

Gibbs flashes his badge. "We're looking for this man." Gibbs says as he holds up a picture.

"I'm not familiar with him, but maybe the office staff is. If you'll please follow me."

Tony is walking down the dock when he finally sees the bell. "Over here." He yells to Kate and McGee. "Let's start searching these boats."

"Don't we need a warrant for that Tony?" McGee asks.

"Not if we don't actually step into the boats." Tony replies.

"I think I found the boat." Kate says a few minutes later. "Definite signs of a struggle."

"Start processing. Tony, sketch; Kate, photos; McGee, bag and tag." Gibbs says as he walks up. "We have an I.D. on our mystery boat owner: Adam Young. When you have everything, Kate and Tony, pay a visit to Mr. Young, McGee, bring the evidence back to the lab.

"On it."

Kate and Tony walk up to Adam Young's house and ring the doorbell.

"You really didn't know what Braxton Hicks is?" Kate asks incredulously.

Tony laughs. "Sure I did Kate. I was just making sure you did."

"Uh huh, yeah Tony. Why would you know anything about women anyway?"

"I know lots about women Kate."

"Like what?"

A man opens the door. "Hello."

Tony and Kate show their badges. "Mr. Adam Young?"

"Yes that's me. How can I help you?"

Kate says, "We're investigating a murder case. Can we ask you a few questions?"

"um. Yeah, absolutely. Come on in."

"Mr. Young, we're looking into the murder of Tom Lynch. What was your relationship with Mr. Lynch?" Tony asks.

"Tom's dead. Oh my God. No, this can't be."

Kate holds out a picture taken after the autopsy.

"Oh no! Tom!" Adam is very visibly shaken.

"Can you please answer the question?" Tony says.

Adam finally answers, "What? Oh, yes. We have been friends for 3 years now. We met at Virginia Beach Fishing Center. We go out on my boat whenever Tom has shore leave."

"Sir, where were you 2 nights ago?" asks Kate.

"Am I a suspect in this?" Adam sounds shocked.

"We have reason to believe that Mr. Lynch was murdered on your fishing boat."

"I've been in Nova Scotia visiting family for two weeks. He was murdered on my boat?" Adam sits down on his couch very hard. Kate and Tony look at each other.

"If you can think of anything that may help, or anyone who would want Mr. Lynch dead, please call us." Tony says as he hands over a card.

"I will, but who would want Tom dead? He was such a nice guy."

"That's what we are trying to find out Mr. Young. Thank you for your time." Kate and Tony show themselves out.

Gibbs walks into the bullpen while McGee is in the lab dropping off the evidence they collected. Ducky is standing by Gibbs' desk. "Jethro, if I may have a word?"

"Yeah Duck, what is it?"

"I heard you have a lead on your case. How tall is the suspect?"

"The marina staff said he is a bit taller than 6 feet."

"I believe then that your suspect did not kill our Mr. Lynch. You see, they striations on his neck indicate that a much shorter person wrapped the rope around his neck. The first marks are on a downward angle, while the rest are upwards, as if the murderer wrapped the rope around Mr. Lynch's neck while he was standing and then he fell to his knees."

"How tall would the person have been?"

"My guess would have to be around, oh, 5'6"."

"We're either looking for a short man…" Gibbs begins

"Or a woman." Ducky finishes.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

"What do you have?" Gibbs asks as he strides into the lab. He sees Sean typing away at the computer, not a furiously as Abby does, but still much quicker than he does.

"Well, so far I have found the murder weapon," Sean holds up a length of rope in a plastic bag,"but there were no epithelials on the rope, so your killer probably wore gloves. All the blood samples from the scene are the victims. Also, the strands of hair that were found still had skin tags attached, so the victim most likely fought back. Ready for the good stuff?"

"Have you been talking to Abby?"

"Um, yeah. How did you know that?" Sean asks.

Gibbs looks at him pointedly.

"Right. Well, the DNA from the hair is female and I'm running it through AFIS right now."

"That's good work. Keep me posted." Gibbs turns and walks out of the lab while Sean smiles brightly.

Gibbs walks off of the elevator into the bullpen and is surprised by silence. Kate, Tony, and McGee are all working away at their desks. Kate is the first to notice Gibbs. She stands up. "The possible suspect is Adam Young, 35. Was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Enlisted into the Canadian Navy at 18. He was honorably discharged 9 years later. 5 years ago he moved to Virginia Beach and has been working as a fishing instructor. Met Petty Officer Lynch at the marina 3 years ago and they have been taking off-shore fishing trips together on his boat during the Petty Officer's shore leaves."

"He didn't kill the Petty Officer."

"Well, no. He has been in Nova Scotia visiting family for 2 weeks, arrived in Virginia this morning. He said that he and Petty Officer Lynch had scheduled a fishing trip for tomorrow. Alibi checked out. How did you know that?"

"Because, we aren't looking for a man." Gibbs replies.

"A woman did this boss?" Tony asks.

"No Tony, a horse did." Gibbs says sarcastically. "We're looking for a woman who had reason to kill Petty Officer Lynch."

McGee hangs up his phone. "Boss, I don't have a name yet on the last person to call the Petty Officer." Gibbs walks towards McGee while glaring at him.

"Um, but I do have the address that the number originated from."

"Well, why didn't you say so McGee? Get Sean to keep working on getting a name and head out." Everyone starts putting down papers and picking up their backpacks.

"A woman?" Abby asks incredulously. "Women don't usually strangle. Well unless they really hate you, but then they find other methods to kill you. Strangling takes a lot of strength so they usually don't do it. Something is hinky about this. Run the DNA through CODIS just in case. I know there are only a few women in there, but you never know." Abby says in one breath.

"How long can you go without breathing and how fast does your mind work?" Sean asks in awe.

"Well, McGee says it works like a pachinko machine."

"A what-inko machine?"

"It's a Japanese gambling machine, but it's not cause gambling is illegal and….well it's a long story, I'll tell it to you later when you don't have DNA to run."

"I'll call you if anything comes up." Sean says.

"Later!"

Abby hangs up the phone and starts waddling towards the kitchen. She changes direction and walks to the stairs, then back to the living room. She keeps mumbling to herself about how hinky this whole thing sounds. "I need my lab." She picks up the phone again and calls a cab, and then she waddles towards the stairs. "I wish you'd get here soon. Mommy is having trouble doing everything." Abby says aloud as she struggles up the stairs to get ready to go to NCIS.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

The team is in the sedan on their way to Norfolk with Gibbs driving as badly as usual. Tony decides to speak up. "Hey boss, why are we all going? Me and Kate could have handled this." Gibbs' response is to push down a bit harder on the accelerator. Tony looks over at Kate looking for back-up on this one.

Kate sighs. "Tony's right. We could have done this ourselves."

Tony and McGee whip their heads to look at Kate. "Who are you, and what have you done with Kate?" McGee asks.

Gibbs shakes his head. "I know you could have done this, but there's something wrong about it. This whole case is a bit…hinky." The whole team stares at Gibbs with their mouths open. They knew there were some changes in Gibbs when he married Abby, and even more when he found out he would be a father, but he never showed the changes at work. 'Gibbs never explains himself' everyone is thinking.

"What's going on today?" Tony asks. "First Kate, now you." Kate elbows Tony in the stomach. "Ow! Well, at least you're back to normal."

Gibbs stares at Tony and Tony asks, "So what's hinky about the case boss?"

"Ask Kate."

Tony looks at Kate and looks for answers.

"The murder itself is…hinky. Strangling generally is a crime of passion and committed by men. Women find other methods like poison or shooting, methods that don't require as much brute strength to do. There were also two different marks on the Petty Officer's throat, almost like the original attempt by the shorter person didn't work and the victim was either pushed to his knees or a taller person took over."

"You think there was an accomplice?" McGee asks.

"It's a possibility we shouldn't rule out." Gibbs says as he pushes on the gas again and the team grab on for dear life.

Abby arrives at NCIS and walks into the building. The security guard looks up at her and smiles as she comes in the door. "Abby, I thought you were staying at home and resting for the bun."

"Yeah, I was, but the latest case the team has is bugging me. I had to come here to work through some stuff in my head."

"Well, don't let me stop you, but if Gibbs asks, I didn't see you."

"Thanks Mark." Abby laughs and continues to the elevator. When the elevator doors open again she is looking at the doors to her lab. "Home, sweet home." She says and giggles to herself. The doors to the lab open and she hears relative silence. 'How can anyone work like that?' she thinks.

"Can I help you Miss? Oh! Omigod! Abby?" a very flustered Sean asks.

"In the flesh." Abby replies. "Now, show me to the evidence!"

"Um….oh…yeah. Right over here. But…you…knew….that."

Abby laughs. "Take a deep breathe, now let it out, and tell me what you have since we talked on the phone."

"Nothing yet. No hits in AFIS, still running through CODIS. Oh, and Gibbs and the team are on their way to Norfolk." Sean is breathing a bit better now and sounds all business.

"Well then. Let's get started!"

"Started?"

"On going over everything until something pops out at us." Abby flashes out her fingers as she says this.

A short while later, a computer beeps and Sean walks over to it. "We have a partial match in CODIS. 7 alleles in common."

"Ooooh! A sister." Abby says from her mass spectrometer. "Who's sister?'

"Lilah Harris, sister to Jeffrey White."

Abby becomes paler if that's possible. "Jeffrey White. Oh no! I have to call Gibbs."

"Who is he?" Sean asks.

"He tried to kill Tony over a year ago, but Tony shot him. He was a suspect in an investigation involving a stolen ancient Iraqi sculpture." Abby dials Gibbs' cell phone. "Gibbs, Gibbs! We found out who the woman is." Abby says quickly.

"Abby, slow down. Who is she, and why are you at the lab?" Gibbs asks.

"Because I am, and it's Jeffrey White's sister Lilah Harris."

"He had a sister? Look we're at the house of the last person to call Tom Lynch. I'll call you after we finish up here, and we are going to have a talk about you being…" Gibbs gets cut off by gunshots.

"Gibbs!" Abby yells into the phone as the connection on the other side is lost.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you to hotchner, Ihockey87, shade-of-lily, and louise1717 for the lovely reviews. I really appreciate it.

Please bare with me forone morechapter to find out who was shot. I'll try to have that up by tomorrow. My internet is being bizarre.

CHAPTER 8

Abby begins to slump to the ground. Sean catches her and slowly eases her downwards. Abby looks like the picture of shock, her eyes are wide and she's slightly rocking back and forth. There are tears forming in her eyes, but they don't fall. Sean doesn't know what to do. He wants to comfort her, but he doesn't know her very well. He does the only thing he can. He picks up the phone and dials. "Ducky, can you come up to the lab. It's an emergency." Sean hangs up before Ducky can ask any questions.

Moments later, Ducky arrives to see Abby and Sean on the floor.

"Good heavens, Abigail, are you alright? What on Earth are you doing here?" He leans down to look her in the eyes, which are still brimmed with tears.

"Oh Ducky, it's Gibbs!" she says as she grabs his arms. "He's in trouble and he might have been shot." Ducky pulls her into a hug and strokes her hair.

A few minutes later Ducky pulls back and looks at Abby. "I'm sure Gibbs is just fine Abigail. You know how stubborn he is, and he couldn't bear to leave you."

Abby sighs and looks up. "He is stubborn, isn't he Duckman."

Ducky smiles at the use of that nickname. He took it as a sign that she was coming back to normal.

"Well, I can't help him if I'm on the floor. Help me up guys. We're gonna find out what's going on." Ducky and Sean each grab an arm and help her off the floor while being mindful of her protruding stomach. "Okay, first things first. We should call the Director to see if she knows about the situation, then we need to call Bethesda to see if they're on their way there." Abby reaches for the phone.

"That's our Abigail." Ducky whispers to Sean, who still looks amazed at the 180 Abby just did emotionally.

"Is she always this fast with everything?" He asks Ducky quietly.

"Yes, she is. I believe that there is a betting pool on how fast she'll give birth when the time comes." Ducky chuckles at this, knowing that you can't speed along nature. "The shortest time someone betted on is 5 minutes, which is quite impossible."

"What did you bet Ducky?"

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on something like that. Labor length is far too unpredictable. However I did place a bet that she will give birth 14 days before her due date." Ducky smiles and Sean chuckles.

"What are you two laughing at?" Abby says as she turns around.

"Oh nothing my dear. We were just musing at how unlucky the doctors at Bethesda will be if Gibbs has to go there." Ducky supplies.

Abby raises an eyebrow at them. "Well, Director Sheppard says that a call from McGee came in a few minutes ago. He requested ambulance and prisoner escort."

Ducky frowns slightly. "Well then, I'll be driving you to the hospital to meet them."

"Oh thank you Ducky!" Abby exclaims as she throws her arms around him.

"Any word on who the ambulance is for?"

Abby's smile vanishes, "No. The Director said she couldn't make out what McGee said, but it was for more that one person."

"Well then. My services aren't needed, so that is good news."

"Yeah, but I need to know who's hurt and if Gibbs is okay."

"Well, we had best be going then."


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry about the extended cliffhanger, but I threw in some Tate and McAbby friendship in this chapter to make up for it. Hope you enjoy.

CHAPTER 9

Abby and Ducky rush through the doors of the hospital and make a beeline for the desk. "I need to know which room Special Agent…..umm…wait…which Special Agent are we looking for Ducky?" Abby asks.

The nurse looks at her funny. "Well, by the looks of you, it'll be you admitted soon."

Abby glares as the nurse as Ducky leads her away. "Did you hear her Ducky? The nerve." Abby says as she shakes her head. "McGee!" She shouts as she spots him in the waiting area. She waddles towards him as fast as she can go and pulls him into a hug. "You're alright."

McGee smiles sadly, "Yeah, I'm alright."

"That means someone isn't alright. Who is it?" McGee sits down and motions for Abby to sit with him. "It is Gibbs, isn't it?" she implores. McGee looks down at the floor and Abby puts her hands on his cheeks and makes him look at her. "Tim?"

"Gibbs took a round in the leg. He's fine now, but I can't say the same for his doctor." They all chuckle at that thought.

"Timothy, what room is Jethro in? I want to check on his condition and have a word with him about harassing medical staff." Ducky says with a smile.

"Room 212." McGee supplies. Ducky walks away to find his friend.

"You should probably go check on him too Abby. I know he'd love to see you." McGee says.

"Not yet. There's something else, isn't there?" Abby looks around the waiting area. "Where are Kate and Tony?" McGee looks down at the floor again. "Not both of them?" Abby asks sadly. McGee looks up quickly and shakes his head no. "Well, then what happened?" she asks.

"Well, when we arrived at the house a shot rang out and Gibbs went down. We all pulled out our guns and a woman walked out of the rear yard towards us. She was yelling at Tony about him killing her brother and she raised her gun. Kate pushed Tony out of the way, but Kate took the bullet in the torso." Abby looks shocked and upset at the news. "She should be fine," McGee continues, "The doctor told me she's come out of surgery and she hasn't woken up from the anesthetic yet. Tony's in her room with her."

Abby looks relieved, but worried at the same time. A few moments later, she looks at McGee again and asks, "So what happened to Lilah Harris?"

"I shot her in the upper torso, closer to her shoulder. She's being taken care of here, but I don't know how she's doing yet. Wait, how did you know her name?"

"That's what I was calling Gibbs about when I heard a shot fired. Her DNA came back as a partial match to Jeffrey White."

"He had a sister? Well, I guess that explains why she was after Tony."

"Yeah it does. I'm glad you're okay McGee. Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, my girlfriend Michelle is on her way here and I know you want to be with Gibbs." They smile at each other and Abby gets up to go to Gibbs.

In Kate's hospital room, Tony sits next to the bed, holding her hand. "You know Kate, this wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to solve the case, without incident, and I was supposed to ask you to dinner. We'd go to a nice place, with food you like, and I'd tell you how I feel about you. But now, we're here in a hospital because some psycho with a gun thinks I killed her brother, and you pulled a secret service move. Why'd you do it Kate? Is it because of your training?" Tony sighs. "Katie, you have to wake up and be fine because I can't go on without you. Why did you risk your life for mine? Katie, please wake up. I love you."

There's a groan from the bed. "Stop calling me Katie."

"Kate!" Tony jumps up and hugs her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'd be a lot better if you would get off of me." Kate groans again.

"Oops, sorry." Tony sits back down and picks up her hand again. "Um, so how much did you hear."

"Most of the last few minutes. I just couldn't get my eyes to open."

"Oh Kate, I'm so glad you're awake."

"Did you mean what you said?" Kate says seriously.

"Yeah I did." Tony says honestly. "I've been trying to say it for a while."

"Well good because apparently I love you too."

"You do?" Tony says in shock. Kate nods and Tony jumps up to kiss her.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you so much for the reviews hotchner, louise1717, devil3567, JHsoccerchick. And thanks for reminding me WWGD Ihockey! I have a few more chapters coming. The fluff content will be much higher in them, and a baby may make an appearance.

CHAPTER 10

Ducky exits the room Gibbs is in and sees Abby coming down the hallway towards him.

"So Ducky, how is he? I know you can tell how he is better than these doctors."

"He's grouchy and stubborn." Ducky replies.

"So he's being Gibbs? That's good." Abby looks relieved.

"I just heard that Caitlin has woken up. I'm on my way go look in on her now."

"Tell her that we're having a girl's night as soon as she gets outta here."

"I will." Ducky says as he walks away.

Abby gently pushes the door open and creeps around the door. Gibbs is sitting up in bed with his arms crossed. He glares at the direction of the doorway, but softens his look and smiles when he sees that Abby is the one entering the room. "Abs..."

Abby perches on the bed. "Jethro, don't you ever scare me like that again."

Gibbs sighs, "Abby, its part of the job. I'm going to get shot at."

"I know, but next time, try not to leave me hanging like that. I didn't know if you were alive or dead. That being said, there better not be a next time." Abby says as she pokes Gibbs.

"Hey!" Gibbs grabs her hand. "I promise I'll try to not leave you hanging next time." Abby hugs him. "It's not like I tried to get shot." Abby looks up and gives him a sharp look with a smirk.

Ducky walks into Kate's room and clears his throat. Tony and Kate break apart quickly and Kate blushes furiously.

"Well, I see you are feeling better Caitlin." Ducky says with a wide smile. Kate manages to turn even redder.

"Please don't tell Gibbs about this Ducky. He'll kill us." Kate pleads.

"Oh, you have no worries about me telling Gibbs, it's not my place. However,it is Gibbs we're talking about. He will find out."

"Yeah, and then he'll kill us." Tony says.

"Better to tell him yourselves than to let him find out you've been hiding something from him." Ducky advises them.

They nod while Kate thinks about how to break this to Gibbs and Tony thinks aboutthe many waysGibbs could kill him.

"I'll be on my way now that I've seen you'll be fine. Oh, and Abigail mentioned that she wishes to have a 'girl's night' with you when you're discharged from the hospital." Ducky starts walking away, but stops before the door and turns. "And about time you two." He leaves the room with a chuckle while Kate and Tony look at each other in bewilderment.

Later in the day, Abby leaves the hospital with McGee and Michelle. Ducky left earlier to check on his mother, so he wasn't able to drive her home. Everyone agreed that Abby should sleep in a bed, not the chair in Gibbs' room, no matter how much she wanted to stay there. Tony refuses to leave Kate that night, so he ends up sleeping in a chair.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days, but I'm going to post 3 chapters today. I hope that makes up for it. There's also an eplilogue coming later.

Once again, thank you to the lovely people who push the purple button at the bottom.

CHAPTER 11

The next morning, Abby is at home getting ready for the day. She calls Ducky to see if she can get a ride to the hospital while she's making breakfast. "Hey Duckman! What's happenin'?" She says when he answers the phone.

"Well my dear, I'm getting ready to go to work. Unfortunately, Ms. Lilah Harris is waiting for me."

"So she didn't make it huh? Does McGee know?"

"Yes, they called him last night to inform him."

"Maybe I should call him to cheer him up."

"I'm sure he would appreciate that. I'll see you later Abigail."

"Later Ducky." Abby hangs up and then dials McGee's cell.

"Hey Timmy! What's up?"

"I'm, uh, heading to work to do some paper work about yesterday." McGee sounds very tired.

"That sucks" Abby says.

McGee snorts. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"Well, try not to fall asleep on the paper." Abby says trying to joke with him.

"I'll try not to. I didn't exactly get a good sleep last night."

"I heard. I'm so sorry McGee. Why don't you come by the hospital later?"

"Alright, I'll do that. See you later."

Abby hangs up her phone and then calls for a cab. She sits down to eat while waiting for the cab. When she picks up her dishes she feels a different pain in her back. "You're not kicking that way now, are you?" she asks her stomach and rubs her hand in small circles over it. She notices that the cab is pulling up to the house so she leaves to go get into it. A short time later, she feels more pain in her back.

"That's weird." She says aloud.

"What's weird, Lady?" The cabbie asks.

"Hmm, oh, nothing. It's just I've got this pain in my back that kinda feels like cramps."

"That's what my wife said before she went into labor."

"WHAT? No! No, not yet. I can't be in labor! Not today." Abby starts to panic a bit.

"Well, at least we're headed to the right place if you're in labor." The cabbie says

"But I'm heading there to see my husband who got shot yesterday."

"Oh……bugger."

"Yeah." Abby says unhappily. "Braxton Hicks didn't feel like this." She grumbles beneath her breath.

A few minutes later Abby groans and says "Uh…sorry about your seat. I can pay to have it cleaned if you want."

"Your water broke? That's real nice of you to offer to pay lady, but don't worry. The company will have it done. Not the first time woman's water broke in a cab."

Abby laughs. "I spose not." Abby digs out her cell. "Now who can I call. Ducky's in autopsy and McGee's at work too. Oh Tony!" she presses the speed dial button for his cell. "Tony!" she yells when he answers.

"Hey Abby."

"Listen Tony, I'm on my way to Bethesda."

Tony cuts her off, "Oh great! I know Gibbs wants to see you and I bet Kate would love to see you too."

"Tony! Just shut-up and listen! I'm in the cab on my way there and my water just broke."

"Did you just tell me to shut-up? Wait, your water broke. You're having the baby?"

"Yes Tony! I'm having the baby, just not this second. Can you make sure Gibbs knows?" Abby says even quicker than her normally fast speech.

"Yeah, I'll go tell him right now. Oh yay! You're having the baby!"

Abby hangs up and mutters "I'd swear he's more excited about this than anyone else."

Tony rushes into Gibbs' room. "Gibbs, guess what!"

Gibbs stares at Tony and quirks his head slightly.

"Right, okay, Abby is having the baby!"

"She's what?" Gibbs asks.

"She's in a cab in her way here and her water just broke." Tony says with a huge smile on his face.

Gibbs looks shocked for a second and then his face breaks into a huge smile as well. "Get a nurse in here. I need a wheelchair right now or I will walk down to maternity."

"On it boss." Tony says as he runs out of the room.

Tony returns quickly with a nurse in tow. "She wouldn't get a wheelchair boss."

Gibbs looks at the nurse with a death glare and she backs up involuntarily.

"Get me a damn wheelchair. My wife is in labor and I'm going to be there!" Gibbs yells.

The nurse goes running out of the room and returns with a wheelchair. The smile returns to Gibbs' face. "I'm gonna be a dad." He says to Tony.

"A hell of a good one too boss." Tony calls after Gibbs as the nurse wheels him out of the room.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

Tony waits until Gibbs is gone before running to Kate's room. He bursts through the door and slides to a stop. "Guess what happened while I was getting coffee!"

Kate tries to sit up a bit, cringes, and then lay down again. "Breathe Tony, and slow down. You're sounding like Abby. Did Gibbs finally punch the doctor?"

"No. What? No, there was no punching." Tony crouches a bit and rests his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. "Abby called. She's on her way here and she's in labor."

"She is?" Kate asks and Tony nods. "Ohmigod!" Kate squeals. "That's so exciting!" Kate holds her stomach in pain. "My best friend is in labor and I'm stuck here in this stupid bed."

"I don't think I've ever heard you squeal." Tony winks at her. "I'll see what I can do. Maybe I can convince someone to get you to the maternity ward for this."

"Who knew you could be this considerate." Kate quips. "Thank you Tony." She says more seriously.

Tony exaggerates a bow. "Anything for you, Milady." He chuckles and leaves the room in search of a nurse.

"Tony" he hears yelled through he door.

He turns and pokes his head in the doorway. "Yeah?"

"Does everyone else know?"

Tony thinks for a second. "Huh. I don't know. We know, and Gibbs Knows."

"So, don't you think you should call Ducky and McGee?" Kate says slightly patronizingly.

"Good point." Tony says and rushed out of the room again.

Tony walks to the desk to see who is on duty when Abby is rushed through the doors in a wheelchair. "Abs." Tony runs to her side.

"Tony, have you told Gibbs yet?" Abby says between panting breaths.

Tony holds her hand. "I did. He commandeered a wheelchair to get him down to the maternity ward. He wasn't going to let anything stop him from being with you."

Abby relaxes and smiles until the next wave hits her and she accidentally crushes Tony's hand. The wave of pain passes and Abby realizes what she did to Tony.

"Oh Tony! I'm so sorry!"

"That's okay. I didn't need that hand." Tony gasps.

"Sir, we have to keep moving." The nurse pushing the wheelchair says.

Tony motions for her to go ahead and gives Abby thumbs up. He pulls out his cell and dials McGee. "Probie!" He barks into the phone. "You're off desk duty today. Drop the pen and get over here."

"Okay…why?" McGee says cautiously.

"Because Abby is here and her bun is leaving the oven."

"It is? She's having the bun…I mean the baby?"

Tony hears a crash on the other end and gives the phone an odd look. "Pull yourself together Probie. Oh, and bring Ducky with you." Tony hears another crash. He shakes his head and hangs up the phone.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

Everyone is in the waiting room, including Kate, Jimmy, and Sean. Kate still couldn't sit up, but she was determined to be there for her best friend, so Tony got a nurse to arrange for a gurney to bring Kate down to maternity. Tony still sits beside her. Ducky is sitting on the other side of her gurney and is telling a story about this time back in England when a server in the pub he used to frequent went into labor in the middle of the pub. Jimmy and Sean are listening raptly; while Tony and Kate are listening to McGee fill them in on the newest details of the case.

Gibbs wheels himself out of Abby's room and down the hall towards his team. There is a huge smile on his face that he's trying to hide, but can't. As he wheels into the waiting room, Kate looks up to see him and smacks Tony on the arm to get his attention and then points towards Gibbs.

"I have a son." He says, still smiling wide. "He's healthy, and he and Abby are resting and doing well."

Everyone had been holding their breath until that point and they rush to Gibbs to offer congratulations, shake his hand and pat him on the back. Over the din, Kate tried to get their attention to have Gibbs wheeled over to her. Tony notices she's being left out and rolls Gibbs over. Gibbs reaches up and grasps her hand. She smiles at him and opens her mouth to speak when Gibbs cuts her off.

"Kate, I don't know if I've said this before, but thank you for everything you did for us. I really appreciate it."

Kate has tears in her eyes. "I just gave you the kick in the pants you needed to get moving, but your welcome and congratulations."

Tony looks at Kate and smiles. "Should we tell him now? He's less likely to kill us." Kate nods and he says, "Kate and I are….what are we?"

Kate rolls her eyes at him. "What we are is in a relationship."

Gibbs looks at Tony, than at Kate, and then at Tony again. "Keep it out of the office."He leans towards Tony. "I have to say this. If you hurt her, I won't need to kill you, she'll beat me to it, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't."

"Gotcha Boss. I don't plan on hurting her ever." Tony is lost in Kate's eyes as her says that.

"You guys are together? About time." McGee says.

Tony laughs. "That's what Ducky said. Did you guys know something we didn't?"

"Everyone knew Tony." McGee informs him.

Tony has a dumbfounded look on his face until Kate grabs his hand.

"Can we go see them?" Kate asks.

"If Abs is awake." Gibbs replies.

Everyone follows Gibbs down the hall and into Abby's room where she is wide awake and smiling at a bundle in her arms. The team congratulates her and "oh's" and "ahs" over the baby.

"He's cute. Must take after you Abby." Tony says

Gibbs looks at McGee and McGee slaps the back of Tony's head.

"Hey!" Tony yelps and everyone laughs.

Ducky pulls a roll of money out of his pocket and says, "Looks like our winner is here."

"Ducky! You were the one running the office betting pool?" Abby asks.

Ducky smiles. "Only on your delivery date, dear. The other one on how fast you would deliver was being run by Human Resources."

"There were two pools running on my pregnancy?"

"Yes Abigail. It's quite the hot topic in the building."

Tony grabs the money out of Ducky's hand. "This is mine, thank you."

Sean plucks the money away from Tony. "Not this time Dinozzo."

Tony gaps at Sean. "What…hey…give that back! I bet it would be 13 days."

"Actually, you bet for 17:00 hours today. I bet for 12:00 hours today, so I was closer." Sean tells him.

"He's quite right Anthony. Sean is the winner."

Kate decides to change the subject. "So, what are you going to name him?"

Gibbs looks at Abby. "We have a few names we're thinking of, but I think it's time for you guys to let Abby rest."

There are a few groans and more well-wishes as the team leave. Gibbs closes the door and rolls back to Abby's side.

"I love you so much, Abs."

"I love you to Jethro." Abby beams at him. "Do you want to hold our son?"

Gibbs holds out his arms for the tiny infant and cradles him. A look of absolute peace settles on his face as he looks down at his and Abby's son.


	14. Eplilogue

EPLILOGUE

5 YEARS LATER

Gibbs sits back in his chair at NCIS. There isn't a current case today and the team is catching up on paper work. He looks over to see Tony throwing paper clips at Kate again. Tony doesn't know it, but she's collecting the paper clips and connecting them together. '3…2…1…' Gibbs thinks to himself, and as soon as he finishes the countdown, Kate throws a huge paperclip ball at Tony. Gibbs shakes his head 'Now it's war.' He gives them the look and they settle down. McGee looks up from his computer and laughs. When he notices Gibbs looking at him, he ducks his head and gets back to work. 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.'

Kate and Tony were married 3 years ago and last week they announced that they were expecting. Kate is officially stuck on desk work and Ziva David has been transferred to the team. She sits at the desk on the end beside McGee. McGee married his girlfriend not long after the Lilah Harris case and they have a daughter, Ava, or 'Mini-geek' as Tony calls her

Gibbs's thoughts are cut off by a small body launching itself into his lap. "Dad!"

Gibbs smiles. "Hey kiddo. How was your first day of school?"

"It was great! There were lots of other kids, but I'm the tallest, and Auntie Michelle, I mean Mrs. McGee, was real nice, and we colored, and played games, and Mrs. McGee read us a story, and we had recess, and lunch, and we got to play tag in the gym." He said in one breathe.

'Definitely his mother's son.' Gibbs thinks. "So you had fun?"he asks, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah! I can't wait to go back. Can I go back tomorrow?"

"You sure can Kaleb. Where's your mom?"

"Right here Gibbs. Your son is turning into a fast runner." Abby says as she walks up to the pair.

"My son? He's yours too."

Kaleb climbs off of Gibbs and starts bouncing up and down in front of Abby. "MommyMommyMommy! Daddy says I can go back to school! I can go play with the other kids again, and see Auntie Mrs. McGee, and play tag, and paint, and color, and….Uncle Tony! Put me down!" Tony starts to tickle torture Kaleb. "Ahhh! Make him stop!"

"See, your son too." Gibbs points out.

"I don't do that. Okay, well maybe I do, but Tony wouldn't pick me up." Abby says.

"Why wouldn't I pick you up?" Tony says while still tickling Kaleb.

"Cause I'd hurt you." Abby says to him.

"Good point."

"Let me see the munchkin." Kate comes up and extracts Kaleb from Tony's arms.

The phone starts ringing. "Gibbs" he answers the phone curtly. He hangs up after a minute and yells out, "We have a case. Grab your gear."

Abby retrieves her son from Kate's desk. "Want to spend some time with me down in the lab?"

"Do I get to visit Uncle Ducky too?"

"Sure can. Let's go so Daddy can do some work."

Gibbs smiles and waves at them as they head towards the stairs. "Tony! Today"

"Sorry boss. On your six"

Everyone enters the elevator and Gibbs smirks as the doors close. 'Yup, the more things change, the more they stay the same.'

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and stuck by me while I worked out this story. And thanks to the people on NCIS forum who pretty much beta'd it for me. Maybe I'll pick up this story again one day, but right now I ran out of ideas and I really suck at writing Ziva.


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